Journey Magazine 2014 | Page 18

BIOGRAPHY PUBLISHED ABOUT 2006 COSAM DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS, C. HARRY KNOWLES Inventor, physics alumnus, and member of the COSAM Dean’s Leadership Council, C. Harry Knowles, physics ’51, is the subject of a new biography, Genius in America: The Story of C. Harry Knowles, Inventor. The book, written by *Mary Ellen Hendrix, details Knowles’ scientific contributions, including more than 400 patents in transistor, laser, and bar code-scanning technology. became an industry workhorse manufactured in the billions. In 1964, Knowles also developed and presented the basic concepts of, and precursor to, the renowned Moore’s Law forecasting model for the semiconductor industry. In recognition of his achievements, Knowles and Metrologic Instruments were inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. Knowles continued as a driving force behind the development of new technologies at Metrologic until his retirement in 2006. Metrologic is now a part of Honeywell International, Inc. Over the course of his career, he worked with Bell Laboratories, Motorola Mobility, and Westinghouse Electric Corporation before founding Metrologic Instruments in New Jersey in 1968. During the next 40 years, Metrologic would become a global, industry leader in laser and bar code scanner manufacturing. Knowles introduced some of the earliest handheld bar code scanners, profoundly altering the marketplace for retailers and consumers alike. “In the early days, when I was coming out of Bell Laboratories, I didn’t bother to patent a lot of the things I discovered. Then the Court of Appeals was established around 1982 and things changed. The landscape totally changed such that trivial patents were then in a position of power in the marketplace. I didn’t realize that for a number of years,” Knowles said, “and some of our competitors ‘invented’ a button on a portable scanner. They said they invented it, but they didn’t. We did. But a button on a scanner was so obvious, it didn’t occur to me to patent it. So, after that, we decided to patent every idea we had ever had, and we did. Eventually we hired one of the best patent lawyers in the country.” 18 Journey/2014 A Birmingham, Ala., native, Knowles enrolled at Auburn University (then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute) in 1945 and, after his freshman year, served in the U.S. Marine Corps for two years. Included among his 400 U.S. patents, Knowles counts several major firsts including the first programmable bar code scanner, the first handheld laser scanner, and the first mini-slot scanner. Metrologic’s devices are used in supermarkets, retail stores, libraries, and airports and can be found in more than 100 different countries. Knowles’ scientific contributions include not only innovative scanner technologies, but also transistors that served the nation’s first satellite and computers of the late 1950s and 1960s. His star transistor, universally recognized as the “2N2222” transistor, “I was a physics nerd and interested in cameras, physics, and chemistry, and I loved the libraries and reading, and I was relatively bashful,” Knowles said. “After I took a two year stint in the Marine Corps, I came back to Auburn and started to get interested in other things. Then, during my junior year, life exploded, and I found myself getting involved in campus activities, and I absolutely loved it.” Upon his return to Auburn, Knowles earned a varsity letter in wrestling under legendary coach Swede Umbach. In 1950, he organized the campus’ first chapter of the national physics honor society, Sigma Pi Sigma, for which Knowles served as chapter president. He was also vice president and president of the Student Government Association, editor of the 1951 Glomerata, and Auburn’s nominee for the Rhodes Scholarship. “There is something about Auburn that captures your societal soul, and I got so busy my senior year that I was called in by Dean (Roger) Allen (Dean of Science and Literature from 1944-67) because I had agreed to take over the Glomerata, and I just quit going to class - I just went in to take the tests. Dean Allen said, ‘Harry, I hate to say this, but if you don’t get a C average this quarter, you are out of school.’ I came within one quiz question of flunking out of Auburn, but I liked the extracurricular activities, and I discovered that campus life is about more than just technology. I am a pretty good technician, but I wasn’t much with people, so developing those relationships while at Auburn was extremely important. The social skills and sensitivity I developed at Auburn were crucial. I was such a nerd. Work is great, but people are greater. I attribute that lesson to Auburn.” Knowles went on to earn a master’s degree in physics from Vanderbilt University in 1953, and in May 2008, Auburn recognized his distinguished career by awarding him an honorary doctorate. He was also the recipient of a COSAM Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006, followed by the Auburn University Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. programs designed to encourage and sustain young scientists and mathematicians as they dedicate their lives to teaching. In 1998, he endowed the Howard and Carolyn Carr Professorship in Physics in appreciation of Dr. and Mrs. Carr’s influence during his student tenure at Auburn. Knowles also recently endowed the C. Harry Knowles Professor for Research Leadership in Mathematics Instruction, as well as the C. Harry Knowles Professor for Leadership in Research or Outreach to Enhance Science Teaching and Learning, both in COSAM. Additionally, he Now that Knowles is retired, KSTF is where he devotes most of his energy. was instrumental in establishing the Stewart W. Schneller Chair, endowed in honor of Stewart Schneller, former dean of COSAM and professor of chemistry and biochemistry. For more information on Knowles, order a copy of his biography, Genius in America: The Story of C. Harry Knowles, Inventor, on Amazon.com. In further support of education, the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF) was established and endowed in 1999 by Knowles. KSTF works to strengthen and improve the quality of high school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education in the U.S. by providing teaching fellowships, research, and resources to college students who plan to become high school teachers. The foundation supports individuals and “During my time at Auburn, Vanderbilt, and Bell Laboratories, I had an incredible supply of Nobel Laureate teachers, and the students around me were remarkable technicians. I assumed that was the national norm,” said Knowles. “Later on when I started Metrologic, I noticed the quality of education the new engineers were getting was not up to what my standards were or what Bell Laboratories’ standards were, or what Auburn’s standards were. I decided right then that if I ever made enough money I would work to improve the science and math teaching in the U.S., and that became a driving force. For years I was tempted to sell out the company, but I didn’t because through all the trials and tribulations at Metrologic, the goal of establishing the foundation remained. And the decline of the quality of education has continued, so the compulsion to stick with it remained. I am fortunate that I have been able to fulfill the dream of promoting a great school of teachers of science and math education. KSTF currently has 800 top-notch high school science and mathematics teachers who have gone through the five-year program that are now part of the teaching cadre in the U.S. The half-life of the average science and math teacher in the U.S. is about five years in the classroom, so in other words, just as a teacher is getting good, they leave. KSTF is the most successful program in the country, by far, for training excellent teachers who remain in the classroom. The attrition rate is lower than any other program, and the teachers last five to six times longer in the schools.” *The author of Knowles’ biography, Mary Ellen Hendrix, is an award-winning writer who retired from Auburn University in 2007 after working with alumni for many years in her capacity as associate editor for The Auburn Alumnews and Auburn Magazine. During her Auburn tenure, Hendrix, who holds a dual degree in journalism and English from Auburn, interviewed some of the university’s brightest and most successful alumni, ultimately leading to the book on Knowles. College of Sciences and Mathematics 19